Marvel Rivals has finally addressed ‘incentivised throwing’, the bounty system where people pay to ruin matches: ‘We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of malicious disruption’

Just when you thought Marvel Rivals’ competitive balancing couldn’t get any worse, a new system to throw games turns up. Incentivised throwing is the name, and ruining people’s win streaks is its game.

Third party websites popped up with the sole purpose of placing bounties on players’ heads. The intention being that if people find themself in a team with someone who has a bounty, they can throw the game and claim 80% of the reward (20% goes to the website, very convenient). People who throw games for any reason are already losers with paper-thin mental, but this sinks to new depths of deadbeats.

These sites supposedly started as a way to target griefers and, ironically, people who throw matches. But instead, it just created a surge of throwers in Marvel Rivals, many of whom don’t even target people who deserve it, instead going for the classic pick: streamers.

The best example of how convoluted this has become is probably a game that streamer DayMR had where three of his teammates were trying to throw to claim a $200 bounty, but the other team was also throwing to stop them from claiming the bounty because they wanted the bounty. In the end, the three teammates went 0-57, 0-55, and 0-59, but still managed to win the game thanks to two helpful teammates who actually wanted to win with DayMR.

The most prolific site, the one which started it all, has since been shut down, but apparently, there’s still a Discord Channel where bounties are being given out. It’s gotten so bad that NetEase has finally addressed incentivised throwing and promised players that it’ll start cracking down on guilty parties.

“We have recently identified a disturbing trend within our community: incentivised throwing, where players are enticed by third-party bounties to deliberately sabotage matches,” an official blog post says. “This behaviour not only undermines the integrity of our game but also tarnishes the experience for honest players who are committed to fair competition.

“We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of malicious disruption. To combat this issue, we are implementing a specialised investigation protocol focused on identifying and addressing negative gameplay linked to these external bounties.

“Accounts found to be violating our policies will face serious repercussions, including, but not limited to, permanent bans. We strongly advise players against jeopardising their valuable accounts and hard-earned progress for the sake of temporary incentives.”

NetEase has also upped its regulations regarding negative gameplay, lowering the bar for accounts to be reported for “engaging in disruptive behaviours” like going AFK or throwing matches. These acts will now “incur significant penalties following reporting and verification.”

This response may have taken the devs over at NetEase a little longer than expected, but I’m glad they’re taking this so seriously. This kind of loser behaviour doesn’t just suck for people who are wrongfully targeted, or even rightfully so; there are more people in a team than just the target, meaning innocent parties who just want to enjoy the game inevitably end up getting swept up in this mess.